Henrico supervisors OK 1,600-home Avenlea development in Short Pump - RichmondBizSense

Henrico approves Avenlea home subdivision

The residential neighborhoods of Avenlea would feature a variety of housing styles and designs. (BizSense file images)

One of the larger developments proposed in Short Pump in recent years has received the blessing of Henrico supervisors, securing the biggest project to date for a local builder that’s keeping busy on both sides of the Henrico-Goochland line.

Supervisors last week approved a rezoning and provisional-use permit for Avenlea, a 1,600-home development with a mixed-use commercial component planned by Henrico-based Eagle Construction of VA.

The mix of residential neighborhoods with a mixed-use district comparable to Eagle’s nearby GreenGate development will fill about three-fourths of a 183-acre site along the north side of Interstate 64 between Gayton Road and the county line. The assemblage is on some of the last remaining buildable land left in Short Pump.

The project will also include a corporate campus in the vicinity of an anticipated Gayton-64 interchange.

Sample elevations of the mixed-use and commercial buildings envisioned for Avenlea.

While the acreage makes it one of the area’s larger developments, its approved residential density of about eight homes per acre makes it a lower-density project than some of its neighbors, Three Chopt Supervisor Thomas Branin said at the meeting.

“This concept was brought to the county two years ago, and it is a lot different than a lot of the things that we have seen,” Branin said. “The density, when you put in perspective what we already have in our county, this is actually a lot less dense than what we already have in many areas.”

Avenlea’s residential neighborhoods would consist of houses, townhomes, condos and apartments, and would fill the bulk of the property. The southeast end at Gayton and 64 would form the commercial district, which will total at least 150,000 square feet of space.

A network of sidewalks and trails would connect the community, which also would have connections with an adjacent county-owned tract that Henrico is planning for a future high school. Highlighting the project would be a paseo, a street-like greenway that would run the length of the site and feature additional amenities.

Spanning 183 acres, Avenlea would be a mix of residential neighborhoods and a mixed-use and commercial district, along with greenspace and trails.

Proffered commitments by Eagle include working with the county to provide land for the interchange, pending approval by the Virginia Department of Transportation. Branin said the interchange itself had no bearing on whether the project should be approved.

“When we get an approved interchange with VDOT, then we will have community meetings and reviews and all of that. But that does not pertain to this case, other than them proffering that whatever land is needed, they’ll provide,” Branin said.

Hirschler attorney Jim Theobald represented Eagle in the case, and Townes Site Engineering is the civil engineer on the project.

Ricky Core

Avenlea is expected to take over 10 years to develop, with initial construction not expected until 2025, said Ricky Core, president of Eagle parent company Markel | Eagle.

“Between the planning and some of the infrastructure construction, I wouldn’t see us beginning anything vertical before that timeframe,” Core said this week, noting the extensive site work and infrastructure required, including a tree planting program that the company is preparing. “We’re very excited about receiving our rezoning and ready to get started on the next step of the planning.”

Core said next steps would include development plan reviews and lining up users for the commercial and multifamily portions. He said the timeline and overall cost of the development would be dictated by the market over the course of the project.

“We’ll take the next six to nine months to continue to refine our plan. We’ve got a lot of planning over almost 200 acres to think about, from traffic circulation, utility design, stormwater management, so there’s plenty of activities to keep us busy on the planning side,” he said.

More homes planned in Goochland

Meanwhile, Eagle is ramping up its activity nearby in Goochland.

The company is seeking zoning approval for 101 age-restricted homes on 85 acres along Pouncey Tract Road south of its Parkside Village development and just north of Avenlea across the county line.

Core said the new subdivision would be a separate community from Parkside Village, which likewise is restricted to homeowners 55 and up. The rezoning request is scheduled to go before the Goochland County Planning Commission this Thursday.

Eagle also is seeking approval for 122 homes on 49 acres at the southern end of Whippoorwill Road, on land adjacent to its 308-home Readers Branch subdivision off Hockett Road. A rezoning request for the additional homes, which Core said would be a new section of Readers Branch, was slated to go before Goochland supervisors at their meeting Tuesday night.

Nearby, on the other side of Hockett farther south at Songbird Lane, Midlothian-based Main Street Homes is developing a 65-lot subdivision on a 65-acre site that would include 21 acres of open space. Zoning for the project was approved in October, and a subdivision plat for the homes is set to go before the Planning Commission at its Thursday meeting.

A building elevation for the “Three Notch Flats” apartment complex proposed by Edward Rose & Sons. (Courtesy of Henrico County)

Apartments also approved

Also at last week’s Henrico meeting, supervisors approved Edward Rose & Sons’ plan for 325 apartments across the interstate from Avenlea, on 10 acres between Gayton and West Broad Marketplace.

Shown in plans as “Three Notch Flats,” the complex would consist of four-story buildings with central courtyards including a pool, and include at least 478 parking spaces. The complex would line Gayton and have an additional access via a driveway off Broad Street.

Ohio-based Reztark Design Studio is the architect on the project, and Hirschler’s Jeff Geiger worked that case for Edward Rose.

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